The Wise Maiden (tale version 1)
An old man and an old woman died, leaving them with an orphan son. His uncle took him in and forced him to graze the sheep. No more or less time has passed, the uncle calls on his nephew, wants to test his sanity and says to him: “Here are a hundred sheep for you, drive them to the fair and sell them for a profit, so that you yourself will be fed, and the sheep will be whole, and The money has been fully recovered." What to do here! The poor fellow began to cry and drove the sheep into an open field; drove him out, sat down on the road and thought about his grief. A girl walks past: “What are you shedding tears about, good fellow?” - “How can I not cry? I have neither father nor mother; one uncle, and he offends!” - “What kind of offense is he doing to you?” - “Yes, he sent me to the fair, ordered him to trade in sheep, so that he himself would be well-fed, and the sheep would be safe, and the money would be earned in full.” - “Well, this is not a great trick! Hire women and shear the sheep, and take the wave to the fair and sell it, then take all the sheep, lay them out and eat the eggs; Here you have your money and your sheep intact, and you’ll be well fed!” The guy did just that; sold the wave, drove the herd home and gives the proceeds to his uncle. “Okay,” the uncle says to his nephew, “but you didn’t think of this with your own mind? Tea, did someone teach you?” The guy admitted: “There was a girl walking by,” he said, “she taught me.”
The uncle immediately ordered the horse to be pawned: “Let’s go, let’s woo that girl.” Here we go. They come straight to the yard and ask: where should I put the horse? “Tie it before winter or before summer!” - the girl tells them. The uncle and nephew thought and thought, they didn’t know what to tie it to; They began to ask her: until what winter, until what summer? “Oh, you slow-witted ones! Tie it to the sleigh, or else to the cart.” They tied up the horse, entered the hut, prayed to God and sat down on a bench. Her uncle asks: “Who do you live with, girl?” - “With Father.” - “Where is your father?” - “I left to change one hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks.” - “When will he come back?” - “If he goes around, he’ll be there by evening, but if he goes straight, he won’t be there in three days!” - “What kind of miracle is this? - Uncle asks. “Did your father really go to change one hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks?” - “Isn’t it? He went to hunt hares; If he hunts a hare, he will earn only fifteen kopecks, but if he kills a horse, he will lose a hundred rubles.” - “What does it mean: if he goes straight, he won’t arrive in three days, but if he goes around, he’ll be there by evening?” - “Otherwise it means that you have to go straight through the swamp, but around the road!” The uncle was surprised at the girl’s intelligence and married her to his nephew.
1 Singleness.
The Wise Maiden (tale version 2)
Two brothers were traveling: one poor, the other eminent; They both have a horse: the poor mare, the famous gelding. They stopped for the night nearby. The poor man's mare gave birth to a foal at night; the foal rolled under the rich man's cart. In the morning he wakes up the poor man: “Get up, brother, my cart gave birth to a foal at night.” The brother stands up and says: “How is it possible for a cart to give birth to a foal! My mare brought this.” The rich man says: “If only your mare had given birth, the foal would have been nearby!” They argued and went to the authorities; the eminent gives money to the judges, and the poor justifies himself with words.
The matter reached the king himself. He ordered to call both brothers and asked them four riddles: “What is the strongest and fastest thing in the world, what is the fattest thing in the world, what is the softest thing and what is the sweetest thing?” and gave them a period of three days: “Come on the fourth, give an answer!”
The rich man thought and thought, remembered his godfather and went to her to ask for advice. She sat him down at the table and began to treat him; and she herself asks: “Why are you so sad, kumanek?” - “Yes, the sovereign asked me four riddles, but gave me only three days.” - "What's happened? Tell me". - “Here’s what, godfather: the first riddle is what is stronger and faster than anything in the world?” - “What a mystery! My husband has a brown 2 mare; no she's faster! If you hit him with a whip, he’ll catch up with the hare.” - “The second riddle: what is the fattest thing in the world?” - “We have another year where the spotted hog feeds; He’s become so fat that he can’t even stand up!” - “The third riddle: what is softer than anything in the world?” - “The down jacket is a well-known thing, you can’t imagine anything softer!” - “The fourth riddle: what is the cutest thing in the world?” - “My dearest granddaughter is Ivanushka!” - “Thank you, godfather! I taught you wisdom, I won’t forget it forever.”
And the poor brother burst into bitter tears and went home; his seven-year-old daughter meets him (there was only one daughter in the family): “What are you sighing and shedding tears about, father?” - “How can I not sigh, how can I not shed tears? The king asked me four riddles that I would never be able to solve in my life.” - “Tell me, what are the riddles?” - “Here’s what, daughter: what’s strongest and fastest, what’s fattest, what’s softest, and what’s sweetest?” - “Go, father, and tell the king: the wind is strongest and fastest; The fattest thing is the earth: no matter what grows, no matter what lives, the earth nourishes! The softest thing is the hand: no matter what a person lies on, he still puts his hand under his head; and there is nothing sweeter in the world than sleep!”
Both brothers came to the king: both the rich and the poor. The king listened to them and asked the poor man: “Did you get there yourself or who taught you?” The poor man answers: “Your Royal Majesty! I have a seven-year-old daughter, she taught me.” - “When your daughter is wise, here is a silk thread for her; let him weave a patterned towel for me by morning.” The man took the silk thread and came home sad and sad. “Our trouble! - says to his daughter. “The king ordered a towel to be woven from this thread.” - “Don’t worry, father!” - answered the seven-year-old girl, broke off a twig from a broom, gives it to her father and punishes: “Go to the king, tell him to find a master who would make beds out of this twig: there would be something to weave a towel on!” The man reported this to the king. The king gives him one and a half hundred eggs: “Give it,” he says, “to your daughter; let him hatch one hundred and fifty chickens for me by tomorrow.”
The man returned home even sadder, even sadder: “Oh, daughter! If you dodge one trouble, another will come your way!” - “Don’t worry, father!” - answered the seven-year-old, baked the eggs and hid them for lunch and dinner, and sent her father to the king: “Tell him that the chickens need one-day millet for food: in one day the field would be plowed, the millet sown, harvested and threshed; Our chickens won’t even peck at any other millet!” The king listened and said: “When your daughter is wise, let her come to me the next morning - neither on foot, nor on a horse, neither naked, nor clothed, neither with a gift, nor without a gift.” “Well,” the man thinks, “my daughter won’t solve such a tricky problem; It’s time to completely disappear!” - “Don’t worry, father! - his seven-year-old daughter told him. “Go to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail.” Her father went and bought her a hare and a quail.
The next day, in the morning, the seven-year-old girl took off all her clothes, put on a net, took a quail in her hands, sat astride a hare and rode to the palace. The king meets her at the gate. She bowed to the king: “Here is a gift for you, sir!” - and gives him a quail. The king extended his hand: the quail fluttered and flew away! “Okay,” says the king, “I did as I ordered. Tell me now: after all, your father is poor, so what do you feed on? - “My father catches fish on a dry bank, but does not put traps in the water; and I’m carrying fish and cooking fish soup.” - “What are you, stupid! When does a fish live on a dry bank? Fish swim in water!” - “Are you smart? When have you seen a cart bring a foal? Not a cart, a mare will give birth!” The king decided to give the foal to the poor man, and took his daughter to himself; when the seven-year-old grew up, he married her, and she became a queen.
1 Rich.
2 Dark bay, almost black with tan marks ( Ed.).
3 Muzzles (trap).
An old man and an old woman died, leaving them with an orphan son. His uncle took him in and forced him to graze the sheep. No more or less time has passed, the uncle calls on his nephew, wants to test his sanity and says to him: “Here are a hundred sheep for you, drive them to the fair and sell them for a profit, so that you yourself will be fed, and the sheep will be whole, and The money has been fully recovered." What to do here! The poor fellow began to cry and drove the sheep into an open field; drove him out, sat down on the road and thought about his grief. A girl walks past: “What are you shedding tears about, good fellow?” - “How can I not cry? I have neither father nor mother; one uncle, and he offends!” - “What kind of offense is he doing to you?” - “Yes, he sent me to the fair, ordered him to trade in sheep, so that he himself would be well-fed, and the sheep would be safe, and the money would be earned in full.” - “Well, this is not a great trick! Hire women and shear the sheep, and take the wave to the fair and sell it, then take all the sheep, lay them out and eat the eggs; Here you have your money and your sheep intact, and you’ll be well fed!” The guy did just that; sold the wave, drove the herd home and gives the proceeds to his uncle. “Okay,” the uncle says to his nephew, “but you didn’t think of this with your own mind? Tea, did someone teach you?” The guy admitted: “There was a girl walking by,” he said, “she taught me.”
The uncle immediately ordered the horse to be pawned: “Let’s go, let’s woo that girl.” Here we go. They come straight to the yard and ask: where should I put the horse? “Tie it before winter or before summer!” - the girl tells them. The uncle and nephew thought and thought, they didn’t know what to tie it to; They began to ask her: until what winter, until what summer? “Oh, you slow-witted ones! Tie it to the sleigh, or else to the cart.” They tied up the horse, entered the hut, prayed to God and sat down on a bench. Her uncle asks: “Who do you live with, girl?” - “With Father.” - “Where is your father?” - “I left to change one hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks.” - “When will he come back?” - “If he goes around, he’ll be there by evening, but if he goes straight, he won’t be there in three days!” - “What kind of miracle is this? - Uncle asks. “Did your father really go to change one hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks?” - “Isn’t it? He went to hunt hares; If he hunts a hare, he will earn only fifteen kopecks, but if he kills a horse, he will lose a hundred rubles.” - “What does it mean: if he goes straight, he won’t arrive in three days, but if he goes around, he’ll be there by evening?” - “Otherwise it means that you have to go straight through the swamp, but around the road!” The uncle was surprised at the girl’s intelligence and married her to his nephew.
The Wise Maiden (tale version 2)
Two brothers were traveling: one poor, the other eminent; They both have a horse: the poor mare, the famous gelding. They stopped for the night nearby. The poor man's mare gave birth to a foal at night; the foal rolled under the rich man's cart. In the morning he wakes up the poor man: “Get up, brother, my cart gave birth to a foal at night.” The brother stands up and says: “How is it possible for a cart to give birth to a foal! My mare brought this.” The rich man says: “If only your mare had given birth, the foal would have been nearby!” They argued and went to the authorities; the eminent gives money to the judges, and the poor justifies himself with words.
The matter reached the king himself. He ordered to call both brothers and asked them four riddles: “What is the strongest and fastest thing in the world, what is the fattest thing in the world, what is the softest thing and what is the sweetest thing?” and gave them a period of three days: “Come on the fourth, give an answer!”
The rich man thought and thought, remembered his godfather and went to her to ask for advice. She sat him down at the table and began to treat him; and she herself asks: “Why are you so sad, kumanek?” - “Yes, the sovereign asked me four riddles, but gave me only three days.” - "What's happened? Tell me". - “Here’s what, godfather: the first riddle is what is stronger and faster than anything in the world?” - “What a mystery! My husband has a brown mare; no she's faster! If you hit him with a whip, he’ll catch up with the hare.” - “The second riddle: what is the fattest thing in the world?” - “We have another year where the spotted hog feeds; He’s become so fat that he can’t even stand up!” - “The third riddle: what is softer than anything in the world?” - “The down jacket is a well-known thing, you can’t imagine anything softer!” - “The fourth riddle: what is the cutest thing in the world?” - “My dearest granddaughter is Ivanushka!” - “Thank you, godfather! I taught you wisdom, I won’t forget it forever.”
And the poor brother burst into bitter tears and went home; his seven-year-old daughter meets him (there was only one daughter in the family): “What are you sighing and shedding tears about, father?” - “How can I not sigh, how can I not shed tears? The king asked me four riddles that I would never be able to solve in my life.” - “Tell me, what are the riddles?” - “Here’s what, daughter: what’s strongest and fastest, what’s fattest, what’s softest, and what’s sweetest?” - “Go, father, and tell the king: the wind is strongest and fastest; The fattest thing is the earth: no matter what grows, no matter what lives, the earth nourishes! The softest thing is the hand: no matter what a person lies on, he still puts his hand under his head; and there is nothing sweeter in the world than sleep!”
Both brothers came to the king: both the rich and the poor. The king listened to them and asked the poor man: “Did you get there yourself or who taught you?” The poor man answers: “Your Royal Majesty! I have a seven-year-old daughter, she taught me.” - “When your daughter is wise, here is a silk thread for her; let him weave a patterned towel for me by morning.” The man took the silk thread and came home sad and sad. “Our trouble! - says to his daughter. “The king ordered a towel to be woven from this thread.” - “Don’t worry, father!” - answered the seven-year-old girl, broke off a twig from a broom, gives it to her father and punishes: “Go to the king, tell him to find a master who would make beds out of this twig: there would be something to weave a towel on!” The man reported this to the king. The king gives him one and a half hundred eggs: “Give it,” he says, “to your daughter; let him hatch one hundred and fifty chickens for me by tomorrow.”
The man returned home even sadder, even sadder: “Oh, daughter! If you dodge one trouble, another will come your way!” - “Don’t worry, father!” - answered the seven-year-old, baked the eggs and hid them for lunch and dinner, and sent her father to the king: “Tell him that the chickens need one-day millet for food: in one day the field would be plowed, the millet sown, harvested and threshed; Our chickens won’t even peck at any other millet!” The king listened and said: “When your daughter is wise, let her come to me the next morning - neither on foot, nor on a horse, neither naked, nor clothed, neither with a gift, nor without a gift.” “Well,” the man thinks, “my daughter won’t solve such a tricky problem; It’s time to completely disappear!” - “Don’t worry, father! - his seven-year-old daughter told him. “Go to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail.” Her father went and bought her a hare and a quail.
The next day, in the morning, the seven-year-old girl took off all her clothes, put on a net, took a quail in her hands, sat astride a hare and rode to the palace. The king meets her at the gate. She bowed to the king: “Here is a gift for you, sir!” - and gives him a quail. The king extended his hand: the quail fluttered and flew away! “Okay,” says the king, “I did as I ordered. Tell me now: after all, your father is poor, so what do you feed on? - “My father catches fish on a dry bank, but does not set traps in the water; and I’m carrying fish halfway and cooking fish soup.” - “What are you, stupid! When does a fish live on a dry bank? Fish swim in water!” - “Are you smart? When have you seen a cart bring a foal? Not a cart, a mare will give birth!” The king decided to give the foal to the poor man, and took his daughter to himself; when the seven-year-old grew up, he married her, and she became a queen.
Two brothers were traveling: one poor, the other eminent; both have a horse; the poor mare, the famous gelding. They stopped for the night nearby. The poor man's mare gave birth to a foal at night; the foal rolled under the rich man's cart. In the morning he wakes up the poor:
Get up, brother, my cart gave birth to a foal last night.
The brother stands up and says:
How is it possible for a cart to give birth to a foal! My mare brought this. Rich says:
If your mare had delivered, the foal would have been nearby!
They argued and went to the authorities: the eminent one gives the judges money, and the poor one justifies himself with words.
The matter reached the king himself. He ordered to call both brothers and asked them four riddles:
What is the strongest and fastest thing in the world, what is the fattest thing in the world, what is the softest thing and what is the cutest thing? - And he gave them a period of three days: - Come on the fourth, give an answer!
The rich man thought and thought, remembered his godfather and went to her to ask for advice. She sat him down at the table and began to treat him; and she asks:
Why are you so sad, kumanek?
Yes, the sovereign asked me four riddles, but gave me only three days.
What's happened? Tell me.
Here's what, godfather: the first riddle is - what is stronger and faster than anything in the world?
What a mystery! My husband has a brown mare;
no she's faster! If you hit him with a whip, he will catch up with the hare.
The second riddle: what is the fattest thing in the world?
Another year, the spotted hog feeds on us; He's become so fat that he can't even stand up!
The third riddle: what is the softest thing in the world?
A well-known thing is a down jacket, you couldn’t imagine a softer one!
The fourth riddle: what is the cutest thing in the world?
My dearest granddaughter is Ivanushka!
Thank you, godfather! I taught you wisdom, I won’t forget it forever.
And the poor brother burst into bitter tears and went home; his seven-year-old daughter meets him (the only family he had was his daughter).
What are you, father, sighing and shedding tears about?
How can I not sigh, how can I not shed tears? The king asked me four riddles that I would never be able to solve in my life.
Tell me, what are the riddles?
And here’s what, daughter: what’s strongest and fastest, what’s fattest, what’s softest, and what’s cutest?
Go, father, and tell the king: the wind is strongest and fastest; The fattest thing is the earth: no matter what grows, no matter what lives, the earth nourishes! The softest of all is the hand: no matter what a person lies on, he still puts his hand under his head, and nothing in the world is sweeter than sleep!
Both brothers came to the king: both the rich and the poor. The king listened to them and asked the poor man.
Did you get there yourself, or who taught you? The poor man answers:
Your Royal Majesty! I have a seven-year-old daughter, she taught me.
When your daughter is wise, here is a silk thread for her;
Let him weave a patterned towel for me by morning.
The man took the silk thread and came home sad and sad.
Our trouble! - says to his daughter - The king ordered a towel to be woven from this thread.
Don't worry, father! - answered the seven-year-old. She broke off a twig from a broom, gave it to her father and punished him:
Go to the king, tell him to find a craftsman who would make a bed out of this twig: there would be something to weave a towel on!
The man reported this to the king. The king gives him one and a half hundred eggs:
Give it, he says, to your daughter; let him hatch one hundred and fifty chickens for me by tomorrow.
The man returned home even sadder, even sadder:
Oh, daughter! If you dodge one trouble, another will come your way!
Don't worry, father! - answered the seven-year-old. She baked the eggs and hid them for lunch and dinner, and sent her father to the king:
Tell him that the chickens need one day's worth of millet for food: in one day the field would be plowed, the millet sown, harvested and threshed; Our chickens won’t even peck at any other millet!
The king listened and said:
When your daughter is wise, let her come to me herself in the morning - neither on foot, nor on horseback, neither naked, nor clothed, neither with a gift, nor without a gift.
“Well,” the man thinks, “my daughter won’t solve such a tricky problem; It’s time to completely disappear!”
Don't worry, father! - his seven-year-old daughter told him. -Go to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail.
Her father went and bought her a hare and a quail.
The next day, in the morning, the seven-year-old girl took off all her clothes, put on a net, took a quail in her hands, sat astride a hare and rode to the palace
The king meets her at the gate. She bowed to the king:
Here's a gift for you, sir! - And gives him a quail.
The king extended his hand: the quail fluttered and flew away!
“Okay,” says the king, “I did as I ordered.” Tell me now: after all, your father is poor, so what do you feed on?
My father catches fish on the dry shore and doesn’t put the trap in the water, but I carry the fish halfway and cook the fish soup.
What are you, stupid! When does a fish live on a dry bank? Fish swims in water!
Are you smart? When have you seen a cart bring a foal? Not a cart, a mare will give birth!
The king decided to give the foal to the poor man, and took his daughter to himself; when the seven-year-old grew up, he married her, and she became a queen.
An old man and an old woman died, leaving them with an orphan son. His uncle took him in and forced him to graze the sheep. No more or less time has passed, the uncle calls on his nephew, wants to test his sanity and says to him: “Here are a hundred rams for you, drive them to the fair and sell them for a profit, so that you yourself will be fed, and the rams will be safe, and The money has been fully recovered." What to do here! The poor fellow began to cry and drove the sheep into an open field; drove him out, sat down on the road and thought about his grief. A girl walks past: “What are you shedding tears about, good fellow?” - “How can I not cry? I have neither father nor mother; only an uncle, and he offends me!” - “What kind of offense is he doing to you?” - “Yes, he sent me to the fair, ordered him to trade in sheep, so that he himself would be well-fed, and the sheep would be safe, and the money would be earned in full.” - “Well, this is not a great trick! Hire women and shear the rams, and take the wave to the fair and sell it, then take all the rams, put them out [to be cold] and eat the eggs; now you have money, and the rams are intact, and You’ll be full yourself!” The guy did just that; sold the wave, drove the herd home and gives the proceeds to his uncle. “Okay,” the uncle says to his nephew, “but you didn’t think of this with your own mind? Tea, did someone teach you?” The guy admitted: “There was a girl walking by,” he said, “she taught me.”
The uncle immediately ordered the horse to be pawned: “Let’s go, let’s woo that girl.” Here we go. They come straight to the yard and ask: where should I put the horse? "Tie it before winter or before summer!" - the girl tells them. The uncle and nephew thought and thought, they didn’t know what to tie it to; They began to ask her: until what winter, until what summer? “Oh, you slow-witted ones! Tie him to the sleigh, or else to the cart.” They tied up the horse, entered the hut, prayed to God and sat down on a bench. Her uncle asks: “Who do you live with, girl?” - “With Father.” - “Where is your father?” - “I left to change one hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks.” - “When will he come back?” - “If he goes around, he’ll be there by evening, but if he goes straight, he won’t be there in three days!” “What kind of miracle is this?” asks the uncle. “Did your father really go to exchange one hundred rubles for fifteen kopecks?” - “Or maybe not? He went to hunt hares; if he hunts a hare, he will earn only fifteen kopecks, but if he kills a horse, he will lose a hundred rubles.” - “What does it mean: if he goes straight, he won’t arrive in three days, but if he goes around, he’ll be there by evening?” - “Otherwise it means that you have to go straight through the swamp, but around the road!” The uncle was surprised at the girl’s intelligence and married her to his nephew.
Fairy tale version
Two brothers were traveling: one poor, the other eminent; They both have a horse: the poor mare, the famous gelding. They stopped for the night nearby. The poor man's mare gave birth to a foal at night; the foal rolled under the rich man's cart. In the morning he wakes up the poor man: “Get up, brother, my cart gave birth to a foal at night.” The brother gets up and says: “How is it possible for a cart to give birth to a foal! It was my mare who brought it.” The rich man says: “If only your mare had given birth, the foal would have been nearby!” They argued and went to the authorities; the eminent gives money to the judges, and the poor justifies himself with words.
The matter reached the king himself. He ordered to call both brothers and asked them four riddles: “What is the strongest and fastest thing in the world, what is the fattest thing in the world, what is the softest thing and what is the sweetest thing?” and gave them a period of three days: “Come on the fourth, give an answer!”
The rich man thought and thought, remembered his godfather and went to her to ask for advice. She sat him down at the table and began to treat him; and she asks: “Why are you so sad, kumanek?” - “Yes, the sovereign asked me four riddles, but gave me only three days.” - “What is it? Tell me.” - “Here’s what, godfather: the first riddle is what is stronger and faster than anything in the world?” - “What a mystery! My husband has a brown mare; there is no one faster! If you hit him with a whip, he will catch up with the hare.” - “The second riddle: what’s the fattest thing in the world?” - “The next year we have a speckled hog feeding; it has become so fat that it can’t even rise to its feet!” - "The third riddle: what is softer than anything in the world?" - “It’s a well-known thing - a down jacket, you can’t imagine anything softer!” - "The fourth riddle: what is the cutest thing in the world?" - “Ivanushka’s granddaughter is the cutest of all!” - “Thank you, godfather! I taught you wisdom, I won’t forget it forever.”
And the poor brother burst into bitter tears and went home; his seven-year-old daughter meets him (there was only one daughter in the family): “What are you sighing and shedding tears about, father?” - “How can I not sigh, how can I not shed tears? The king asked me four riddles that I would never be able to solve in my life.” - “Tell me, what riddles?” - “And here’s what, daughter: what’s strongest and fastest, what’s fattest, what’s softest, and what’s sweetest?” - “Go, father, and tell the king: the strongest and fastest is the wind; the fattest of all is the earth: whatever grows, whatever lives, the earth feeds! The softest of all is the hand: no matter what a person lies on, he still puts his hand under his head; and the sweetest there is nothing in the world to sleep!"
Both brothers came to the king: both the rich and the poor. The king listened to them and asked the poor man: “Did you get there yourself or who taught you?” The poor man answers: “Your Royal Majesty! I have a seven-year-old daughter, she taught me.” - “When your daughter is wise, here is a silk thread for her; let her weave a patterned towel for me by morning.” The man took the silk thread and came home sad and sad. “Our misfortune!” he says to his daughter. “The king ordered a towel to be woven from this thread.” - “Don’t worry, father!” - answered the seven-year-old girl, broke off a twig from a broom, gives it to her father and punishes: “Go to the king, tell him to find a master who would make a cut from this twig: there would be something to weave a towel on!” The man reported this to the king. The king gives him one and a half hundred eggs: “Give it,” he says, “to your daughter; let him hatch one and a half hundred chickens for me by tomorrow.”
The man returned home even sadder, even sadder: “Oh, daughter! If you dodge one trouble, another will come your way!” - “Don’t worry, father!” - answered the seven-year-old, baked the eggs and hid them for lunch and dinner, and sent her father to the king: “Tell him that the chickens need one-day millet for food: in one day the field would be plowed, the millet sown, harvested and threshed; another millet is ours.” The chickens won’t even peck!” The king listened and said: “When your daughter is wise, let her come to me the next morning - neither on foot, nor on a horse, neither naked, nor clothed, neither with a gift, nor without a gift.” - “Well,” the man thinks, “even my daughter won’t solve such a tricky problem; it’s time to completely disappear!” “Don’t worry, father!” his seven-year-old daughter told him. “Go to the hunters and buy me a live hare and a live quail.” Her father went and bought her a hare and a quail.
The next day, in the morning, the seven-year-old girl took off all her clothes, put on a net, took a quail in her hands, sat astride a hare and rode to the palace. The king meets her at the gate. She bowed to the king: “Here is a gift for you, sir!” - and serves the quail. The king extended his hand: the quail fluttered and flew away! “Okay,” says the king, “I did as I ordered. Tell me now: after all, your father is poor, so what do you feed on?” - “My father catches fish on the dry shore, but doesn’t set the trap in the water; but I carry the fish halfway and cook the fish soup.” - “What are you, stupid! When does a fish live on a dry shore? A fish swims in water!” - “Are you smart? When have you seen a cart bring a foal? Not a cart, a mare will give birth!” The king decided to give the foal to the poor man, and took his daughter to himself; when the seven-year-old grew up, he married her, and she became a queen.